. here are some interviews we did this week. >> we are now at the ces in las vegas. we have zoe lofgren from california. what are you doing at ces? >> this is my very first trip to ces. they asked that i come down here and be on the panel about immigration. i did that this morning. this afternoon i will look around the hall and then i will fly into santa fe. pretty good so far. >> what was your role in the panel? >> there aren't a lot of problems with our immigration system. -- there are a lot of problems with our immigration system. that technology world sees that people have gotten their phd from schools like mit.

if you are a farmer, you would say that the migrant farmers do not have their papers. if you are checking crowdabs in maryland, the season be destroyed because you do not have workers. below thing is a mess. i have hope that -- the whole thing is a mess. >> you represent a lot of companies in silicon valley. what are you hearing from them? what is the solution to these problems? >> at it not so much a h-1 visa problem. i'm not saying it should be repealed, but it has structural problems. the real answer is residents.

if you have some hot shot that got his phd in computer science from stanford, he's getting offers from all over the world. if you make them stay in limbo for six years, that's not really competitive. we want people to stay here and create jobs. that does not just in the tech field, but throughout the economy. make it easy for people to stay and grow american jobs to help our economy recover. >> what is the atmosphere for potential immigration reform in congress? >> we have had an interest in immigration reform for white some time. we have not -- for quite some time. in november,al --

mr. romney lost badly. part of the reason why is because he got under 30% of votes among latino voters. there is a divide that is partly because of the republican' immigration. the republican -- and this is a very fast growing demographic. they have to join us. they have to deal with immigration reform. we're happy to compete for voters aren't other subjects. -- on other subjects. >> this is a priority for the tech community? >> it is. it is something i have been working on for a long time. it is a decision that the

republican leadership needs to make. i cannot make it for them. i am hopeful that they will decide that it is a good thing to put behind them. i know that we can work together to make it so. >> what else do your from your constituents in the silicon valley area about washington? -- what else do you hear from your constituents in the silicon valley area about washington? >> it is interesting. in the bay area, there are not many republicans. there is not a single republican house member from the bay area. there is not a single republican in the state senate for the state assembly. anyone that has to identify their party is a democrat. that was the constituency. i get that when i come home, people cannot understand what republicans are doing.

i find it difficult to explain. you know, it is an area that does not want somebody else's religion or life. the one better health care and better schools. they visit washington and do not understand the fight in a lot of ways. >> specifically when it comes to technology related issues, do you hear anything? >> there is concern about innovation and the role that current law has in the area of copyright and patents stifling innovation. that is typical to remedy. we have a patented build that i did not vote for last year,

having worked on it for 12 years. it did not do what we hoped it would do. we have an overarching scheme on copyright enforcement that is probably not that positive in terms of technology and innovation. i'm sure you all remember soapa. i'm talking about individuals who are inventing things and creating things real that there is a problem in terms of the copyright and he can become together and make sure that the laws work in the internet age? that is something i went to work on. i will be introducing some bills. try to get a discussion going. >> when you walk around here, do

you see a lot of constituents? >> sure. iran into a couple of people i knew already. -- i ran into a couple of people i knew already. .et's go see companies this afternoon i'm going outside the hall to another hall to visit some startups who could not afford to come into this hall and see what is coming out. >> they could not afford the oven here? >> yes. they have a tiny booth and start up ideas. maybe in a couple of years they will be able to afford to be in this hall. >> zoe lofgren, democrat from california. this is "the communicators." >> ces is held every year in less vegas. one of the largest -- in las vegas. one of the largest events that is focused on technology. "the communicators" is here

doing interviews and looking at some of the new tech knowledge he. here is mark -- and some of the new technology. tom davis, what are you doing out here in las vegas? and speaking at one of the conferences and trying to enjoy the show. word?t is the >> leading consulting firm. >> since you have retired, is that what you have been doing? >> that is what i have been doing. >> what is the panel that you are headlining? >> we have a couple of members that will be talking about the fiscal cliff and what is happening or not happening in washington. try to let people understand why things are the way it is for people who do not understand how washington works.

we try to demystify it for them. >> is there a particular angle to legislative policy when it comes to tech companies such as we are seeing here? >> they tend to be on the social side, social issues and to have a democratic heliceplolicies. on the economic policy, very free-trade, not a union type of operation. more market oriented. they get conflicted between the parties in this. the politics and the bay area is a culture that is a predominant force in the political alignment. in my area, there is a huge tech order. regulatory issues and the like. there conflicted like everyone else. tech workers tend to be more

obama than ronnie. -- romney. is a swing vote. >> when it comes to your service in congress, did you push tech at all? >> absolutely. wasad the y2k bill when it coming. people were afraid to touch it. there was a limited liability in place. one of the cosponsors for a bill we had to protect these companies from lawsuits that were hitting innovative companies and getting into property issues, intellectual property issues. both the services acquisition reform act. the last security --

cybersecurity law. i was a pretty prolific legislator in those areas. >> speaking of the procurement process, does it work when it comes to technology? >> i will give you an example. about a year ago, i did not have to worry about advertising. i did not have to worry about small business set-aside. i did not have to worry about this protest. i could work it pretty quickly. i didn't not have to worry about the buy america act. they tried to basically look at other government policy instead of looking at getting the cheapest goods for the cheapest prices for the taxpayer. as a result, it is a very inefficient way to procure

goods. the answer is that it does not work well. >> is there one set of technology tools that the government uses question mark -- uses question mark -- uses? >> agencies have their own stovepipes. there is no interconnectedness. in theory, they should be overseeing these kind of issues and refereeing between the different agencies. even in the agencies, you have people procuring different systems that do not integrate very well. we spend billions of dollars preparing them. -- repairing them. people build up their own legacy systems and they did not coordinate with anything around.

then sentence to save money is not there. if you save money, you do not get the benefit. it goes to someone else. they do not make it efficient. we need someone at the top coming hard down on them. to make up to congress the system and create the laws? >> the executive branch ought to be able to do that. the executive branch has the authority within him. something does legislative could get from the executive branch is every organizational authority. that means you could reorganize the way that you wanted. when congress tries to mend it there are jurisdiction battles. it is the nature of government.

it operates openly and transparently. the bigger your budget, the more powerful you are. in business it is the opposite. you make a quick, fast decision. you make a lot of decisions. in government you kind of put off those decisions because there is no reward in making them. >> tom davis, you represented a tech area in a corner of virginia. does congress understand technology? >> some members who are proficient in the area. there is one who built up a tech company and made billions of dollars. there are others who just carry a blackberry. it is like a population as a whole.

there is a difference in understanding government policies that will encourage innovation and efficiency and intellectual property rights. congress coming down one way or another could have a huge effect. tax policies could encourage or discourage innovation. our immigration policy where someone gets a phd and they -- and we can keep them -- and we kicked him out of the country for them to appeal against us, it does not make any sense. congress can do a lot. you do not have to be efficient on your iphone or your black very to understand -- blackberry to understand. >> what is your area of expertise? technology.and even if you have the right policy, making it work is very tough. the implementation of that is

very difficult. we take a look at what the policy is in how to integrate it and make it work. we have an acquisition firm. we bring that source to government. when you try to get efficiency and try to publish the same goal with less people and fewer dollars, those are the kinds of things that we excel at. why would i do that? then i would have fewer people and the budget will go down. or i know a company that has the software that is much faster, but you do not need the people to do it. you can test it quicker and faster. how do i protect the people? government has a different set of incentives than the private sector does. it is a monopoly. change comes hard. >> over the years, we have seen google and facebook and the

washington offices grow and then some. we didn't interview with that executive vice president of samsung earlier at ces. and he said -- we did an interview with that executive vice president of samsung earlier at ces. he said that they have someone in washington. >> microsoft did not have much of a washington office. you would have the justice department going after you on something else and then congress passes a law and you throw business plans out the window. the reality today is that there are so many conflict in interests that if someone has an advantage in washington will write some rules to benefit them. that can undo your business plan. we are a full democracy.

what other countries, it is different. google learned the hard way are. but google has been successful. they learned the hard way if you do not have a washington presence. let us innovate on our own. then the rules changed and that was out the window. >> what do you miss about congress? >> very little. i miss the members, but with the dysfunctionality, i'm happier on the outside. i was termed out of german committee. i was -- chairman committee. iran a campaign successfully

three times. that is a good run. -- i ran a campaign successfully three times. that is a good run. the only known cure for the fever is embalming fluid. it was time to move on. >> this is "the communicators" on c-span. we were speaking with former republican congressman tom davis. up next, an interview with the ceo and chairman of panasonic north america. i'm your screen is joe taylor, the ceo and chairman of panasonic north america. -- on your screen is joe taylor, the ceo and chairman of panasonic north america. talk to me about the products. >> thank you for having me.

interesting thing we're doing here is not just in to do seeing some new consumer electronics, but rolling out the new image of panasonic globally carried that is a company that is almost 100 years old and has a portfolio product far beyond consumer electronics. >> such as? >> our b2b space is growing for us. we have major market shares in- flight entertainment and automotive industry far beyond speakers and radios. navigation systems. sports and entertainment venues. shame on us, but we have not made people well aware of these even though we are 100 years old. >> we are aware of panasonic

television and cameras and things like that. you have a brand called your tv. what is that? >> your db is the latest innovation. -- your tv is the latest innovation. it will want their content when they wanted. they want to communicate. they want twitter. they want you to. they want to shop. they want that on your tv. we have facial and voice recognition. you say "my tv" and it is the coolest thing. >> is it on the market? >> this spring. >> 4k -- what is that? >> 4k is simple -- four times the resolution of what you have on your hdtv at home.

it has the same qualities as digital cinemas you have been sitting around the world. when you see a movie, that is 4k. oled is another technology for display. we have the old, big boxes. the next is oled which is much more organic. o stands for organic led. it is also the most amazing thing. you have to go over to our booth and see it. >> what do you mean by organic? >> we as phosphorus and stead of semi conductors. it is much more greener than any display in the market are. >> what happened to 3d?

it was all the rage last year. >> i do not think anything happened to it. it is still developing. i think the biggest impediment is the glasses. as 4k develops, i think the future for glass-less -- that doesn't sound right. 3d without glasses, that is when you will see an explosion in that. >> here at ces, two topics that you brought in -- the cloud and energy efficiency. what did you talk about? >> the reality is that they are both kind of related. the cloud allows ways to collect, store, and analyze data in ways that we have never done before. as we relate to energy, every device that plugs into your home can be connected to the

cloud and send data. as we analyze the data, we have new ways to help you save energies in ways we never did possible before. we can manage the entire home electrical he in the most efficient way -- electrically in the most efficient way through the cloud. it presents other opportunities. the cloud is a big server. we have ways to analyze the data in a useful fashion. >> what about apps? >> we do not make any apps, but the great operating systems that are happened so that apps can be developed. you mentioned your tv earlier. it has an open architecture. that means apps developers can create apps for this tv. >> you are the first north american ceo -- correct? >> i am.

>> what is it like merging the two cultures? >> i'm not sure if i want to answer that question. it has been interesting. it has been challenging. i say that if panasonic waited 50 years for me, they should have done a lot better. >> i want to ask you about u.s. jobs with panasonic. >> in north america, we have approximately 15,000 employees. >> to what capacity? >> everything from manufacturing to sales, marketing, r&d. a complete range of jobs that you would expect in any major corporation. >> when it comes to our the expect in terms, and -- when it comes to r&d, the have expenditures? >> there is a percentage, but it

is not budgeted that way. we look at r&d business by business. we have fixed r&d sites in north america alone. >> is the north american market unique? >> we would like to think it is unique. what cannot be disputed is that it constitutes a percentage of gdp. it is by far the largest market in the world. in any state itself is the only developed nation on earth whose population is still growing. it makes it a very interesting market. it has some things in common with the emerging markets and the most competitive marketplace in the world. >> how much time do you spend on regulatory policy issues in

washington, d.c.? >> as little as they possibly can. we have an organized nation of people who are capable of dealing with that rest rating process. -- organization of people who are capable of dealing with that frustrating process. >> you have to be aware? >> i'm involved and i'm aware. it is ms. mess.-- it is a >> why? >> businesses can deal with anything but uncertainty. it is difficult to make a decision and expect any return when you have no way to predict the future. our difficulty is that there is no consistency or certainty in our policy decisions. it has become well beyond ideology. there is no compromise in ideology.

it is difficult as a business person. >> what keeps you up at night when you look years down the road about what panasonic will be? how people watch tv? >> what i think of 10 years and panasonic, i do not think how people are watching tv. i think you will see a very different panasonic than what you see today. i think you will still be watching panasonic the place -- displays, but they'll be much better known for certain products. >> why? >> our sustainable and profitable growth will come from the b2b-- avionics, healthcare. we are just scratching the surface in terms of technology application. we'll panasonic w manufacturing televisions? -- >> will panasonic still be

manufacturing televisions? >> i think displays will still have the prominent place in home in communicating content and information. >> joe taylor, chairman and president of panasonic north america. this is "the communicators." "the communicators" is on --ation at ces last vegas 201 lsaas vegas 2013. more next week. >> on "newsmakers" senator chuck grassley talks about guns and immigration reform and other topics. sunday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. eastern here on c-span. now a panel of policy-makers examines how congress and l